


You're Who I Needed All Along

by MerWhoLocked



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Background Relationships, Bisexual Kageyama Tobio, Everyone Loves Hinata, Hinata is a Catshifter, Hinata is adorable, M/M, Minor Azumane Asahi/Nishinoya Yuu, Minor Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Minor Tanaka Ryuunosuke/Kiyoko, Minor Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi, Missing Cat..., Missing Persons, Nishinoya Yuu & Tanaka Ryuunosuke are Bros, Shapeshifting, With A Twist
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-30
Updated: 2017-11-29
Packaged: 2019-02-08 16:11:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,488
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12868206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MerWhoLocked/pseuds/MerWhoLocked
Summary: Kageyama is content with his life even though he never became a pro volleyball player, settling for a job as an accountant at the company his father owned. He's a bit of a workaholic and lives alone but he's also part of a great neighborhood volleyball team that plays in local tournaments. He even has people in his life that he can almost call his friends. But Kageyama's life is turned upside down when his sister emotionally blackmails him into taking care of a stray cat she found on the streets. It doesn't take long to realize that this cat is actually out to get him, trying to ruin his life.Realizing that he cares a lot more about the cat than he was willing to admit is a surprise but the bigger surprise comes when he finds out that the cat he took in is actually a shapeshifter who's been making his life miserable because he's irritated about being stuck inside Kageyama's apartment. But that begs the question; why didn't Hinata just shift into a human and leave by himself?





	You're Who I Needed All Along

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for clicking on the link to read my story after reading that atrocious summary. I rewrote it a few times trying to make my story seem interesting enough to read but didn't like any of the results. Finally I just had to pick one and go with it. 
> 
> This isn't your typical 'Hinata is a shapeshifter' AU so I hope you like it.

Kageyama often wondered how his life became so complicated, taking in what was left of his once pristine apartment. The vase his mother gifted him last Christmas to give his apartment some character— the one that he secretly hated but kept for her sake— was destroyed, pieces of it laying shattered on the floor. The faux wooden slats of his blinds were uneven, bent out of place and mangled and the drapes had little claw marks in them, leaving the dark fabric in tatters. His potted plant had been unearthed and dirt was strewn everywhere on the floor. Toilet paper had been dragged from one end of his apartment to the other, starting from his bathroom and two of his couch pillows had been gutted, white stuffing laying across his velvety black couch cushions in several large clumps.

If he didn’t know any better, he’d have thought that he’d been robbed.

He swept his gaze around the room in abject horror until he landed upon the bright orange and white furred nuisance that was ruining his life. Two small rounded golden-brown eyes with narrow slits for pupils peered back up at him, blinking mock innocently as he basked in the utter carnage that he had wrought upon Kageyama’s life.

Kageyama grit his teeth, his eyes narrowed into a deadly glare and began plotting how he was going to murder the stray cat he’d taken in and make it look like an accident. The damn thing had to be some sort of demon in disguise, secretly plotting his demise while destroying his apartment in the process.

He took a deep breath as he walked over to the kitchen and grabbed the broom that was in the narrow slot between the refrigerator and the wall. He managed to keep his calm until he walked back into the living room where the little hellion was sitting on his haunches, licking the back of his front paws as he casually groomed himself with a picture of innocence.

“I will _kill_ you,” Kageyama said eyes glowing with intense heat as he swung the broom in an arc at the cat, missing by only a couple inches due to its swift reflexes. In a rage induced fugue, he chased the cat around the room, swinging wildly and missing despite his normally good aim. The cat was just too agile and fast to catch when he didn’t want to be caught but Kageyama put up a good fight, uncaring of the fact that his sister would be very sad if he actually hurt the damn thing.

In the end, all of this was her fault anyway.

He remembered answering the door a week ago to find a small orange furball shoved in his face, held aloft by his meddling little sister. The cat wasn’t very happy about being held like a rag doll, feet dangling in the air as struggled in vain to be let down so that he could bolt for freedom.

“Look what I found, Nii-san! Isn’t he adorable?!” She had cried, pulling the cat back and tucking his struggling body underneath her arms to make sure that he couldn’t escape. He was surprised to see that her arms were free of defensive scratches even though it was obvious the cat was trying to fight her. Maybe someone had declawed him, though it wouldn’t have lasted very long as a stray if that was the case.

“What are you doing with that filthy thing?” Kageyama had asked her, looking annoyed. A stray was more likely to be wild and untamable, not the kind of pet that was easy or cheap to take care of.

“Don’t say that, he’s cute! He looked so sad out there by himself and hungry so I gave him food and then brought him home!” Nanami said, waltzing into his apartment as if she owned the place. He shut the door behind her and she dropped the cat down on the floor. It quickly ran underneath his couch, squeezing his flexible body underneath the small space in an attempt to hide from them both.

“Mom is going to let you keep him?” he asked, figuring if he played along with her madness, she and the cat would eventually leave and he could go back his weekly reports that he’d brought home to work on during his day off.

“Well… she said that if I could take care of him properly but I’m so busy with club activities and school that I forgot to feed him for a couple days. Plus he’s so unruly when I leave him alone. He keeps destroying mom’s herb garden so she said I have to get rid of him,” she wheedled nervously, hands held together in front of her, dragging the tip of her shoe on the floor in front of her.

“I don’t know why you brought him here then. Take him to a shelter,” Kageyama said, playing dumb. He had an idea of what she wanted but there was no way he was going to say yes, especially since she’d just admitted he was a little troublemaker.

“But shelters are so overcrowded and he’ll mostly likely be put down before anyone adopts him. And unruly or not, he doesn’t deserve to die. But if you take him, he’ll have a good home and I can come visit him whenever I want. He doesn’t scratch at all and I even trained him to use a litter box. He’s very smart.” she sounded impressed by her own logic but Kageyama continued to scowl.

“Absolutely not,” He didn’t even have to think about his answer since he didn’t have the time, patience or desire to take care of a cat. He didn’t even like them to be honest. To be fair, he didn’t like most animals and was pretty sure the feeling was mutual, so it wasn’t as if he was singling them out but at least dogs were trainable. Cats just did what they wanted with little regard to anyone else.

“Please Tobio!” Nanami begged, tears gathering in her eyes, “I’ll buy his food and come visit him a lot, he just can’t stay at the house,”

Tobio scowled. It was the one trick she could always pull on him. He was not strong enough to say no to his little sister when she threatened to cry in front of him, which is why he was here now, running around trying to pummel her unruly cat to death. The cat skillfully jumped out of reach on top of a bookshelf that Kageyama would have to knock over if he wanted to continue, back arched and hissing angrily at him.

“You deserve it, dumbass cat!” Kageyama yelled back and the cat merely sat on his haunches, flicking his long tail back and forth as it tracked him cautiously, like the tiny predator that he was. Kageyama glared back, not about to lose face to a filthy feline.

While he was busy having a staring contest with a cat, there was a loud knock on his front door, making all the color drain from his face and he suddenly remembered that he was making a lot of noise for ten o’clock at night. He approached the door cautiously, hoping that it wasn’t his next-door neighbor.

Sawamura Daichi was the scariest person he’d even met when he was angry, only seconded by his husband, Sugawara Koshi. He opened the door a crack so that he could peek out and sighed in relief when he saw it was only his neighbors from across the hall.

“Your being too loud again, Kageyama. You’re lucky Daichi has the late shift at the hospital tonight and Suga is out of town at a conference till tomorrow but it would be nice if the rest of us could get some sleep,” the larger of the two said, his long hair hanging loose out of the bun he normally kept it in. Azumane Asahi was a generally mild-mannered, shy man but even he had his limits when being woken up in the middle of the night on a weekday by loud crashes and his neighbor’s shouting.

“Sorry,” Kageyama says, blushing slightly. He hadn’t intended to wake everyone up but sometimes his temper got the best of him.

“You’re fighting with that cat again, aren’t you,” The shorter of the two men asked, smirking at Kageyama with mirth dancing his eyes, his hands placed on his hips. His normally spiked hair was lying flat on his head, the small blonde tuft falling in between his eyes. Nishinoya Yu, Asahi’s boyfriend of four years, looked like he was enjoying himself despite having been woken up at such a late hour.

At first glance they seemed like an odd couple. Asahi was extremely tall, reaching to an impressive 186 cm whereas Noya was extremely short, only 160 cm. Asahi was quiet, shy and quite gentle despite his rough appearance and Noya was the loud and abrasive one. They had their obvious differences, but they got along well and had started dating in their 3rd year of high school.

“He destroyed my apartment,” Kageyama said, opening his door wider and letting them see the extent of the damage. One of his socks fell from the ceiling fan and Kageyama experienced a moment of madness as he tried to figure out how the cat had gotten it up there of all places.

Noya sniggered, “Wow. It looks like someone broke in and ransacked the place,”

There was a soft meow and a small head poked around the wall of the divider that separated the kitchen from the living room. Once it was deemed safe enough from Kageyama’s wrath, the cat sauntered over, yawning and stretching his thin body before meowing up at them again, his golden eyes sparkling. Both Noya and Asahi felt their hearts melt at such an adorable sight and leaned down to pet him. Unlike Kageyama, who’d gotten scratched the first time he’d tried despite his sister’s insistence, the cat leaned into their hands and purred pleasantly.

The cat was a little smaller than most breeds, with patched orange and white fluffy fur and two pairs of short stubby legs. A munchkin cat, his little sister had told him after researching his odd features. They were a rare sight, caused by a spontaneous natural genetic mutation. He had a long tail that he liked to curl around people’s legs when he weaved in and out of their feet, often causing Kageyama to trip over him when he was least expecting it.

He looked like a kitten even though he was full grown and it tricked people into thinking that he was docile and playful, though Kageyama knew the truth. This cat was cunning and vengeful despite his small stature and cute fasad. The veterinarian theorized that the reason he was still so small was due to the possibility of being the runt of the litter and malnutrition after living on the streets for so long.

“How can such a delightful creature make such a big mess?” Asahi cooed and the cat butted up against his large hand, seeking more contact.

“He’s a menace,” Kageyama growled, watching in annoyance as Asahi gently picked the cat up and continued petting him without any fear of him striking out with his sharp claws or teeth.

“Have you ever thought about getting another cat for him to socialize with? Maybe he doesn’t like to be home alone all day and is trying to get your attention,” Noya suggested, reaching up to pet him in his boyfriends hands.

 “I doubt he’s that smart and one cat I didn’t even want in the first place is more than enough for me,” Kageyama said bitterly, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back against the door

“Then maybe you should take him out with you more. He might enjoy getting out of the house sometimes since he was once a stray,” Asahi added, trying to be helpful, “You could call him by his name as well instead of referring to him as ‘the cat’. What did your sister name him?”

“Momo,” Kageyama replied sarcastically, watching in fascination as the cat’s eyes seemed to narrow at the name, almost as if he could understand it, “And he seems to hate it even more than I hate calling him by it,”

“Aw,” Asahi kissing the cat on the top of the head, “You should rename him then. What about… Shoyo, because of his coloring. He looks like sunshine.”

The cat perked up, looking up at Asahi with wide eyes and Kageyama was amazed at how human the cat’s reactions were. It wasn’t the first time he’d noticed the cat reacting to something only a human could understand but it couldn’t be possible. He shook his head, chastising himself for anthropomorphizing a wild animal like that. He wasn’t a kid anymore who believed that animals could act human or understand language. Still, the cat meowed and licked Asahi’s chin in what appeared to be acceptance of the name, tickling his goatee.

“See, he likes it!” Asahi said laughing excitedly.  

Noya was watching both his boyfriend and the cat with fondness, wondering if it was time for them to adopt fur baby of their own. Maybe a dog or even a cat seeing how much Asahi seemed to love Kageyama’s.

“As much fun as this is,” Noya regretfully interrupted, his exhaustion finally catching up with him, “You do have to get up early for work tomorrow, Azumane.”

“Ah, yes,” Asahi said sadly, handing the cat back to Kageyama before the man could protest, “Bring him to practice sometime. I’m sure you could leash him so he doesn’t run away. I’ve seen them at the pet store,” he said supportively.

Shoyo was utterly calm, content to just sit in Kageyama’s arms until he shut the door, lulling him into a false sense of calm. Once the door was closed, he lashed out with his claws, making Kageyama yelp and instinctively drop him. Kageyama looked down at the red line scratches on the inside of his forearm, enraged and then back up at the orange haired menace, who’d bolted towards his bedroom.

Receiving was going to hurt a lot tomorrow at practice.

&&

Getting Shoyo into the harness he bought was a special kind of torture. He’d went to the pet store early the next morning after spending all night cleaning up his apartment to buy a harness and a leash for Shoyo, desperate enough to try Asahi’s recommendation of taking him out with him instead of leaving him home all day. He’d come to the sudden realization while sweeping up the remains of his potted plant that because Shoyo had used to be a stray living on the streets for most of his life, there might be some logic behind his destructive habits. He could bitterly understand getting stir crazy cramped in his small apartment all day after once having the freedom to roam around wherever he wanted.

His arms were a complete mess, with multiple scratches up and down the insides of his forearm, leaving marks that almost looked self-inflicted. He’d even managed to scratch Kageyama’s face, leaving bright red marks on the bottom of his chin.

After twenty minutes of struggling with Shoyo, who was using both his front and back paws to defend himself, he wondered if this was all really worth it. He redoubled his efforts when he thought of what state his apartment would be in when he came back home later that night.

“You will behave” Kageyama grumbled, his eyebrows furrowed, “Or I will make you,”

Shoyo hissed and growled in protest but eventually Kageyama was able to successfully get the harness on and leash attached. Once he let go of the cat, Shoyo immediately got to his feet and tried to run away, only to be forcefully stopped as the leash pulled taut in Kageyama’s grip. He then rolled over and attacked the end of the leash with all four of his paws.

Kageyama chuckled spitefully at the cat’s pointless struggle, feeling vindictive after everything the little dumbass had put him through. The harness buckled securely around Shoyo’s upper torso, which was safer than a collar that went around his neck—or so the sales associate at the pet store had told him— especially for cats since they had such delicate necks. He supposed that even if the harness was more expensive, it would cost less money in the long run if he had to take him into the vet for a collapsed trachea. He couldn’t exactly make his little sister pay for either the surgery or the fee to euthanize with what little money she got as an allowance from their parents.

Shoyo had settled down, finally realizing the futility his unfortunate predicament and was now laying on the ground, staring up at him resentfully while he tail flicked back and forth in irritation.

“Time to go,” Kageyama said cheerfully and started walking towards his front door. The leash was pulled tight as Shoyo refused to budge and Kageyama realized one mistake in his grand plan.

Shoyo was not going to cooperate with him. He pulled on the leash a little bit harder and Shoyo was dragged forward a few inches, his tiny body no match for Kageyama’s superior strength but still he refused to move, now staring at Kageyama with what looked like a victorious expression. Cats couldn’t smile, not in the way humans could but if he had to wager a guess, he’d bet that the cat was smirking at him.

“I will drag you,” Kageyama threatened, unaware of how ridiculous he was acting. Shoyo didn’t respond, continuing to stare at him, engaging in a battle of wills that Kageyama was determined not to lose.

“Alright then, I warned you,” Kageyama said and then dragged Shoyo out of the apartment. He ended up having to drag him all the way to the elevator and then through side door of his apartment complex. Once he got outside, Shoyo stood up quickly and tried to flee once again but the leash stopped him from going too far.

“Such a dumbass,” Kageyama chuckled as Shoyo yowled and stalked back and forth angrily. In retaliation for his forced captivity, Shoyo attempted to attack his feet but eventually gave up when Kageyama started walking forward, making it difficult for the tiny cat to successfully catch them.

It didn’t take Shoyo long to get bored of trying to fight his situation and started voluntarily walking on his own beside his new owner, his eyes darting back and forth inquisitively at his new surroundings. For once he looked happy just to be outside and Kageyama was cursing himself for not thinking of this sooner. The balcony was several stories too high for him to attempt to jump off and it wasn’t the same as the wide open streets.

Kageyama supposed he was lucky in one regard. He worked as an lead accountant at his family’s finance company and he could get away with bringing Shoyo into the office with him because he the boss of his own department. His father wouldn’t care as long as he got his work done on time.

His apartment was only a few blocks away from the office, which made it easy to justify walking instead of taking his car. He tried to avoid taking his car as much as possible, preferring public transit when he still not comfortable behind the wheel of what he considered a metal death trap. It was the reason he’d chosen his current accommodations, uncaring of the wear and tear of old age and how small it was compared to the other apartments he could easily afford with his salary. He lived alone anyway so all the extra space would be wasted on him.

It was normal for him to be the first one at the office, so he was able to sneak in and avoid the stares he would have received if anyone had seen him walking in with a cat, but it was stupid to think that he could keep him a secret forever, considering the loud yowls he would make if he was locked in Kageyama’s office for too long. He scratched at the door to be let out and when that didn’t seem to work, Shoyo had climbed up the leg of his desk, leaving little claw indents in the wood, and then sat down on his paperwork to get his attention. Kageyama would then pick him up and put him back on the floor but Shoyo would climb right back up, turning it into a little game. After two hours of this incessant frustration, he finally had enough and let him out to explore the rest of the office, leaving him in blessed peace and quiet for the next couple hours.

Once he was left to his own devices, having Shoyo at work wasn’t as bad as he thought it was going to be, but he was annoyed that everyone seemed to think that because he brought a cat into the office with him, it somehow made him seem more approachable. The little dumbass spent several hours getting fawned over and cooed at by his coworkers, passed from one person to another until Kageyama yelled at everyone to get back to work. They made a barrier around the elevator but Shoyo for once didn’t seem to be interested in trying to escape and instead spent his time exploring his new environment curiously.

Maybe Asahi was right. He hadn’t really planned taking Shoyo to volleyball practice until seeing how mellow he was compared to the day before, knowing that it would be much harder to keep track of him in the large public gymnasium they practiced at. His team met every Tuesday and Thursday evenings, and sometimes on Saturday mornings, for a couple hours to accommodate all their busy schedules.

He normally stayed late on the nights he didn’t have practice with the municipal team he was a part of, to make up for the fact that he had to leave early on days he did to make it on time. He enjoyed the peace and quiet of the office when no one else was around and it was the time of day that he got the most work done. He was eventually chased out by the janitorial staff that came to clean, bustling about loudly as they emptied garbage cans and vacuumed the floors.

His mom worried, calling him a workaholic and often commented on his lackluster love life because of the many hours he logged, but he was painstakingly aware that there was another more significant reason that he didn’t have a long term partner. His longest relationship had been with his girlfriend back in high school at the end of third year. It had lasted for eight months but that was largely due to the fact that she’d had incredible patience and tolerance for his rotten temper and standoffish personality.

Kaiyo had been a quiet and sweet girl, and very supportive of his obsession with volleyball even though it meant he didn’t have a lot of time to devote to her. After they both had graduated, she had gotten accepted into one of the top universities in Kyushu where she wanted to study law, and they had come to the amicable agreement that it was better if they broke up since he had his sights set on a university in Tokyo on a volleyball scholarship. Neither of them had genuine enough feelings for each other to make a long distance relationship work.

The next longest relationship he’d had was at university with a boy in his statistics class, but Yuichi left him after only three months, claiming that he couldn’t be with someone who prioritized volleyball over him. Kageyama hadn’t felt the need to stop him from leaving, knowing that it was the truth. He wasn’t willing to compromise his time spent on volleyball for him and figure it was for the best.

Shortly after that he came out to his parents as bisexual after they’d found a few too many pictures of him in the arms of another boy on social media. He didn’t see the need to hide it. They had been upset at first but had eventually come around to support him with a great deal of help from his younger sister, who supported him unconditionally. He realized that they’d finally come around when his mom had started subtly commenting on the merits of adopting as well as conventional birth. He was thankful that she hadn’t started demanding grandkids yet but figured it was only a matter of time since he had been working at his family’s finance company since he was eighteen years old and had established his career at twenty-four.

The amount of suitors, both male and female, that his mom had thrown at him had doubled since he had graduated from university and he was having hard time coming up with excuses for why he was still single despite all her efforts. Most of them didn’t make it past the first date, insulted by Kageyama’s blunt attitude or uncomfortable by his insensitivity and gruff personality. Those that did make it past the first date never made it past a third. Volleyball was more important than finding a life-long partner and he didn’t want to waste any more valuable time on someone who wouldn’t stick around long enough to get to know him better.

Today was Tuesday so at a quarter to five, he closed all his documents and shut down his computer in preparation to leave early. He grabbed his suit jacket that he’d hung up earlier on the way out and shut the door to his office. He didn’t have to search long to find his annoying house guest. Shoyo, having grown bored of his new surroundings, was more than happy to leave without making a fuss but that all changed when he got on the bus he normally took to the gymnasium, enduring more scratches as he held a shivering cat tightly against his chest.

Shoyo continued to wail loud enough for the entire bus to hear and he apologized to the bus driver for making a scene when he finally got to his stop. The driver smiled kindly at him and suggested putting him in a carrier or a large tote bag next time to make him feel more secure, since most cats didn’t like the jarring motion of a vehicle. Kageyama thanked him while trying to hold on tightly to a struggling Shoyo. The other people on the bus gave him unfriendly looks but didn’t say anything to him after he gave them all an intimidating glare.

When they finally arrived at the gym, Kageyama noticed that he was the last one to arrive, so he tied Shoyo’s leash to a railing and left him briefly to change into a plain white t-shirt and black athletic shorts that he normally played in. When he returned, he honestly wasn’t surprised to see the entire team crowded around Sugawara, holding a purring Shoyo in his hands. He walked over to them, not even trying to hide his scowl.

“Wow, I honestly didn’t think you would really bring him,” Asahi told him sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. Kageyama gave an annoyed huff and then internally cursed his inability to understand when someone was joking, taking most things too literal. Even if he had been joking, his suggestion had worked, so he wasn’t going to complain about it.

“He does seem a lot happier though,” Noya commented as Daichi smiled lovingly at Sugawara, cooing softly at the Shoyo. The dumb cat was lapping all the attention up, preening in satisfaction for them all.

“It seemed logical that Shoyo was not happy at being cooped up in my apartment all day,” Kageyama mumbled defensively, trying to avoid their attention.

“You changed his name too?” Noya asked in astonishment, never having thought that Kageyama would actually listen to their advice. Kageyama ducked his head, hiding his intense blush at their scrutiny.

“He likes it better,” he huffed, shaking his head in dismay.

“So the Great King does care for someone other than himself,” Tsukishima Kei mocked. The blonde haired middle blocker was the only person on the team that he genuinely disliked and his derisive tone was more than he could stand.

“Shut up,” Kageyama growled as he stalked over to grab a volleyball that someone left on the ground, determined to ignore them all.

“What happened to your arms?” Sugawara asked worriedly. He was the first one to notice the long scratches than littered his inner forearms, though Kageyama hadn’t exactly been hiding them. His long sleeve dress shirt had covered them at work so no one had seen his war wounds before now.

“You’re holding the culprit as we speak,” Kageyama said petulantly, glaring daggers at the orange haired cat.

“You can’t play like that,” Daichi said with a frown even as Kageyama argued that he didn’t care about a little pain as long as he got to play volleyball. Daichi ignored his protests and went to grab some topical ointment and ace bandages out of his bag for him to use. It would make receiving a little difficult but thankfully it would only be temporary.

Sugawara held Shoyo up in the air above his face, scolding him in a slightly condescending tone. The affect was ruined when Shoyo placed his tiny paws on Sugawara’s face and licked his nose endearingly, making ashen haired setter giggle. Kageyama’s scowl deepened at the sight of them.

“Man, I thought you were joking when you said that the cat does not like you,” Tanaka Ryunosuke commented lightly, “But you’re the only person he scratches,”

It was painfully true. With everyone else, Shoyo was a perfect little angel, refusing to scratch anyone but the dark-haired setter, though he eyed Tsukishima with a predatory look, which made Kageyama feel a _little_ better about his situation.

“I’d say from the noise he was making last night, he probably deserved it,” Tsukishima remarked, sounding annoyed and his boyfriend, Yamaguchi Tadashi, nodded swiftly in agreement.

They both lived in the apartment underneath Kageyama and Tsukishima often complained of any noise he made, whether it was intentional or not. When they’d first met, he’d tried to be mindful of his actions and walk softer but had given up being considerate after the first mocking retort. Now he sometimes did it just to annoy him, which had only resulted in Tsukishima’s more biting comments.

The whole team lived in the same apartment complex. It was how they had all met and discovered a similar passion for volleyball. After a year of getting to know one another, they had decided to create a neighborhood volleyball club. They even technically had a coach though he didn’t come to every practice since they were—in his own words—grown men who didn’t need constant supervision. Coach Ukai’s husband, Takeda Ittetsu, also volunteered as their club advisor that helped them set up matches against other neighborhoods in their prefecture.

“He woke us up after we’d just gone to bed,” Yamaguchi added, though he was smiling as he said it. He was never one to hold a grudge, knowing how abrasive his boyfriend could be at times, and couldn’t always blame Kageyama for getting back at him when he could.

“Shoyo trashed his apartment,” Noya said with a smirk, “So he was trying to teach him a lesson by attempting to beat him with a broom.”

Sugawara gasped in shock and cuddled Shoyo up to his chest, “Did the big bad man hurt you?”

Shoyo meowed pitifully in response, doing his best to look cute and deceptively innocent but when their backs were turned, he looked over at Kageyama slyly. The setter could have sworn the little menace was smugly satisfied at how things had turned out and Kageyama wondered where all the concern for his arms had gone.

“We should probably start practice or we won’t get anything done tonight,” Daichi said, ever the responsible one and while Kageyama was extremely grateful, Sugawara looked utterly heartbroken, promising to come over and play with Shoyo during their break. They had a match coming up next week against their rivals at Nekoma and Kageyama wanted to get as much practice in as they could. He was a naturally competitive person and took every match as seriously as he used to in school.

For the most part, Kageyama was able to forget about Shoyo’s annoying existence during practice, immersed in his love for volleyball. He had played in his high school club and then again at university level but had been forced to retire after graduating since he didn’t make the national team.

At the time he was sure that his forced retirement was the worst thing that could have ever happened to him and he sometimes still found himself wallowing in his own shame. For the longest time, volleyball had been his entire life. He’d gotten a degree in accounting and business while working part time at the family business at his father’s insistence, but it had always been his plan to eventually take over for his dad. He’d just hoped to have a few years playing at a national level before retiring and becoming what his family expected him to be.

It wasn’t that he disliked his job, he actually enjoyed math and was surprising good at it, but his ultimate dream had always been volleyball. He’d played for as long as he could, so he tried to busy himself at work to ignore the painful absence of it. It wasn’t until they all met and formed this team that his love for the sport had been renewed, and he found a piece of himself that was missing.

Shoyo remained tied to a railing for the entire practice. He’d never stopped moving, watching their practice with an intensity uncommon for a normal feline. When Asahi spiked the ball with so much power that it broke through the blockers, he would yip loudly and jump as far as the leash would allow in a crude imitation and when Kageyama would set up the ball to be spiked, he would run around in circles excitedly.

Most of the team just assumed he was bored and wanted out of the harness but no one trusted him not to flee at the first chance he got. There were too many exits for them to police while trying to pay attention to practice. He was situated far enough away that he wouldn’t get hit by any stray balls but one or two rolled close enough for him to interact with, drawing his attention away from their practice.

Although the ball was slightly bigger than him, he eagerly pounced on one of them and then yelped in shock when it rolled over on top of him, having not expected it to move out from underneath him at the momentum of his jump. He stood up and shook himself off, deciding to try again. This time he tried sinking his claws in the soft leather for stability but it still rolled over on top of him again, unintentionally hitting himself on the back of the head. He growled and crouched in preparation to pounce again, eyeing the ball as if it had intentionally attacked him, ready to fight with this newly recognized threat.

It was personal now.   

His next attack ended the same way as the first two and he mewled pitifully at the unfairness of it all.

“Pft,” A noise caught his attention so he looked up at the whole team, noticing that practice had come to a stop and they were all staring at him. Noya and Tanaka were struggling not to laugh, holding onto each other for balance as they bent over with tears in their eyes. Asahi was smiling widely at him, thinking that it was the most adorable thing that he’d ever seen and Sugawara had taken out his phone to video it. Daichi tried and failed not to look at him fondly, knowing he should be disciplining his team for getting distracted during a practice match but he couldn’t bring himself to scold them after seeing Shoyo’s utter defeat at the hands of a defenseless volleyball. Tsukishima looked like he was trying not to react, turning his face away and adjusting his glasses while Yamaguchi lightly teased him about it. Kageyama was the only one who was not looking at him, face turned away with a surprising blush on his cheeks.

Shoyo meowed in confusion, not understanding what was so interesting.

&&

Two months passed in relative peace and after that first day and it was uncommon to see Kageyama without little Shoyo either walking beside him or in tucked securely in his arms. Although he didn’t take him to work every day, he always took him to volleyball practice, which seemed to help better their relationship. As long as he didn’t leave Shoyo home alone all day, both cat and reluctant owner seemed to come to some sort of unspoken agreement about their living arrangement and in time they even started warming up to each other instead of just tolerating each other’s presence. It didn’t take long for the entire team to fall in love with Shoyo and Kageyama was loathed to admit that he was even starting to not mind him as much as he used to. He was their little unofficial mascot. On days that Ukai and Takeda showed up, Shoyo would spend half the practice jumping around in excitement and the other half curled up in Takeda’s warm lap, purring in contentment as the soft spoken man stroked his fur.

On days he didn’t have volleyball practice he paid his neighbors kid, a cute little redheaded girl named Natsu, to come and play with him during the day. Shoyo didn’t scratch him as often and even let Kageyama carry him places that he needed to be. Rainy days were a challenge at first but Shoyo quickly learned to stay under the umbrella if he didn’t want to be soaked and generally pissy about it. He didn’t fight anymore when Kageyama put his harness on, recognizing it as a symbol that he would get to leave the apartment, since Kageyama still didn’t trust him to roam freely without it. Kageyama had also solved the bus problem by carrying him in a large tote bag while holding him securely in his arms and, he never came home to a destroyed apartment since.

They still had their little spats every now and again. Shoyo got mad when Kageyama handled him just a little too roughly or pet his belly when he wasn’t in the mood for it, and Kageyama got upset when Shoyo hacked up a fur ball into one of his shoes. The most memorable incident had been when Shoyo had left a surprise pile of his poop on Kageyama’s pillow after the man had forgotten to clean his litter box and Sugawara had a scolded for being forgetful after Kageyama had explained why he was all scratched up again, reminding the younger man that a good pet owner had to remember to take care of these things.

Without really meaning too, they developed a routine. Kageyama was starting to come home early on days that he didn’t have volleyball practice, taking time to just relax when he used to work and train obsessively on his weekends off. On days when he was feeling particularly lazy, Kageyama would sit in front of the TV in his living room, watching movies with Shoyo perched on his lap while enjoying the vibrations of his purrs. It always happened the same way. They would ignore each other for a few minutes, both unwilling to admit they liked their new routine and then Kageyama would pet him gently with one hand, starting from the head and down his back, taking a minute to scratch at the spot right before his tail for a few extra seconds and Shoyo would settle into his lap.

After so many peaceful nights, Kageyama started to learn little things that Shoyo liked and disliked, paying closer attention to stroke his sweet spots. He liked it when Kageyama scratched underneath his chin and behind his ears but he hated it when he touched his legs. His belly was extra sensitive so somedays he would allow Kageyama to softy pet him there and somedays he would give him a light scratch to let him know it wasn’t appreciated. Other days he would flick popcorn at Shoyo and the cat would chase them, licking the butter off the kernels before eating it noisily. It was a surprising change for Kageyama, especially since the only thing that had changed over the last few weeks was spending more time with the cat but he could admit that it was nice to come home to someone instead of the silence of an empty apartment.

No one had ever _needed_ Kageyama before, not like Shoyo did, and it was the first time in his life that he was starting to rely on someone else. Yuichi, Kaiyo and all those other people he’d dated, had wanted to spend time with him but he was never honestly happy going out on dates with them, knowing that they all expected a reaction from him. And he’d always feared giving them the wrong one, or even the truthful one. Even just a quiet night eating dinner and watching movie in their apartment always made him feel uneasy, as if one wrong word could ruin the entire evening. In the back of his mind, he would always wonder when he could get back to practice. That never happened with a cat. He didn’t have to put on airs for Shoyo, who ignored him half the time anyway.

There were even somedays he would just walk around the block with Shoyo, staying out till it was dark enough to see the stars, content with just spending time with him. Maybe it was because he could talk to Shoyo without fearing his reaction or thinking that he would find his opinions silly or stupid. He could express his inner most thoughts without any repercussions, no matter how petty or mean and Shoyo would just meow at him and move on, accepting him as he was.  

It was an odd sort of harmony that he wasn’t fully aware of until other people started pointing it out to him.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so happy,” Nanami had told him in awe, “Even when you play volleyball you’re always so intense and focused but now you’re smiling more than you used to.”

“Your serves are so much more concentrated now. Even Noya is having a hard time receiving them,” Sugawara mentioned with a soft, knowing smile.

“You’re not as irritating to be around anymore,” Tsukishima had grudgingly admitted during practice, heavily encouraged with an elbow to his side by Yamaguchi, who was smiling at him more openly lately.

His mom was convinced that he was secretly dating someone and not telling her about it. And the girls at his work were getting more annoying, approaching him more often to compliment him, unintimidated by his previously unapproachable nature now that he was known as a devoted cat owner.

“If a cutie like that can stand you, you must not be such a bad guy after all,” One of the more brazen ones commented while he was getting some coffee from the breakroom. He’d scowled at her and stomped back to his office in a huff but that didn’t discourage any of his other coworkers and it was a startling realization that his reputation was irrefutably ruined.

“Only you would take it a bad thing that people are starting to like you,” his sister told him the day she came to visit, playfully mocking his hopeless social skills. He understood math much more than he understood people. He also didn’t know why he was so irritated that day, only that Shoyo seemed much more livelier in her arms than he did before she arrived and he had an insane urge to rip him away from her, cradling him close even though he knew Shoyo hated being smothered. He’d go to his grave denying that he was jealous of his sister holding his cat.  

“It’s all your fault people won’t leave me alone,” Kageyama told a purring Shoyo later that night, trying to sound furious even though his hands were still ever so gentle as he ran his hands down the cat’s back, feeling how silky his hair was becoming now that Kageyama was grooming him properly. He’d even brought a brush to get out the more serious tangles, though Shoyo had a love/hate relationship with getting brushed with it.

Shoyo briefly craned his head up to look at him from where he was laying in Kageyama’s lap and then yawned, exposing all his needle point teeth before settling his head back down and continued purring without a care in the world.  

&&

Kageyama arrived extra early to practice the next day in an attempt to dodge his coworkers newly found obsession with him. It wasn’t only the girls that he had to watch out for now. The guys were getting more and more comfortable around him, asking him out to go to drinks with them after work and he’d even had to turn down a few surprising date requests. He politely declined each and every offer, though that didn’t seem to stop them from trying. It wasn’t that he particularly hated any of them but it was hard to take any of their offers seriously after they’d looked down at him and ignored him outside of work related matters for so many years. He honestly wasn’t used to the attention and he also couldn’t say that he enjoyed it either.

He had his teammates and Shoyo. That was all he needed.

After changing into shorts and a t-shirt, he laid down on the ground next to the railing that he tied Shoyo to and closed his eyes. He breathed deeply, counting his inhales and then matching his exhales, focusing on the quiet stillness of the gymnasium. They booked it out so that no one else would bother them while they were trying to practice and played in local tournaments to help fund their team. Kageyama also helped here and there when they came up short, donating the extra money he was saving by living so frugally.

He let out a startled grunt when the air was forced from his lungs as an unexpected weight landed on his chest. He opened his eyes in irritation to see a pair of golden-brown eyes staring back at him curiously. Shoyo cocked his head sideways, blinking slowly at him and Kageyama stayed still, uncertain of how he was supposed to react. His first instinct was to shove the cat off him but Kageyama clamped down on it and reached up to pet the top of his soft head. Shoyo closed his eyes, titling his head up into Kageyama’s fingers, basking in the feeling of having one of his favorite spots petted.

Kageyama continued to pet him for a few more minutes before dropping his hand and Shoyo took that as some sort of invitation, walking forward till he was settled on top of the human’s sternum. He sat on his haunches, lightly kneading his shirt with his claws and then laid down, curling up on top of him. He closed his eyes to take a nap and Kageyama let out a soft sigh in contentment. Due to his petite size, Shoyo wasn’t heavy enough to restrict his breathing and it was even comforting to feel his rapid heartbeat against his chest.

Exhaustion washed over him and he resisted the urge to yawn, hesitant to make too much movement in case he accidently knocked him off. He closed his eyes, unaware that he drifted off into a light doze until the sound of giggling woke him up, and he opened his eyes to see the entire team surrounding him. With the exception of Tsukishima, they were all smiling fondly at him and Sugawara and Asahi even had their phones out, taking pictures of him.

He scowled at them all and without thinking, he sat up from his prone position, sending Shoyo flying from his chest into his lap. He winced when Shoyo dug his claws into the skin of his thighs in retaliation, giving him an irritated hiss before flouncing off him.

“Sorry,” Kageyama apologized and reached out to pet him with genuine regret but received a swipe of Shoyo’s claws instead. He probably deserved that. He couldn’t say that he would be very forgiving if he’d been violently thrown from a comfortable position while he was asleep.

Shoyo ignored him after that and he avoided his teammates teasing remarks as he stood up and got ready to start practice. He was strangely distracted throughout the first hour, miscalculating his tosses and generally unable to focus on the ball when it came to him. His receives were sloppy and the one time he tried to dump it, he had missed and hit the net, losing a point for his team.

“Don’t mind! Don’t mind!” his teammates would tell him every time he screwed up a play, even as they gave him mildly worried looks. It wasn’t like to him to be this distracted. It was even worse to hear how quiet Shoyo was being. Normally they could hear him, making all sorts of noises as he bounced around in an overexcited frenzy. Out of habit, he glanced over at Shoyo and his heart skipped a beat.

The spot where Shoyo was usually tied was empty. It startled him enough that he didn’t hear his teammates warning or notice the ball coming straight for him. Even after the ball hit him in the face, knocking him to the ground from the force of Tanaka’s spike, all he could think about was the fact that Shoyo was not where he was supposed to be. He looked over at the door frantically, his breathing growing more shallow in panic when he realized that they had left it propped open to let the breeze in and regulate the airflow in this summer heat.

“Shoyo,” he cried looking around frantically, hoping to see an orange little fluff ball running around.

Hearing his frantic calls, his team finally realized what was wrong and they all immediately stopped playing to start searching for the wayward cat. Asahi and Noya went outside, calling out his name even though they knew he’d most likely be too far away if he’d left the building by now. No one knew how long he’d been gone, having not seen the moment he’d gotten out. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi checked the locker rooms and Daichi and Tanaka scoured every corner of the gymnasium just in case they had missed him.

“I must have not tied his leash tight enough,” Kageyama whispered, having sunken into a state of shock. The room was a little bit colder than it had been a ten minutes ago and everything was slightly blurry. He sat down on one of the benches, holding his head in his hands, his elbow digging into the muscle of his thigh. Sugawara sat next to him, rubbing his back as he tried to keep his friend from having a mental breakdown.

“I found him!” Tanaka shouted and Kageyama lurched upwards, looking frantically over to where his teammate was standing, pointing at the ball bin. He ran over to the blue bin and looked inside. Nestled in between a dozen white, red and green, volleyballs, was little Shoyo, sleeping comfortably.

A few tears slipped out as he reached in and picked up him, cradling him close to his chest with both his arms and kissing him atop his head, uncaring of the fact that he would most likely get scratched for his efforts. Shoyo appeared to be disgruntled at being forcefully awakened yet again but calmly looked around at all the people surrounding him, teary eyed and relieved at his presence. He looked up at Kageyama, meowing softly and licked his cheek, tasting the salty tears that the setter had let escape.

Kageyama hadn’t known until that exact moment how much he really cared for Shoyo and how distraught he would be if something happened to him. He didn’t know how but in the few months they’d spent living together, he’d fallen in love with the little orange menace and couldn’t imagine his life without him anymore.

They all decided it would be best to cancel the rest of practice since they wasted most of their time looking for Shoyo and unanimously agreed that they were all too upset to focus, Kageyama especially. They cleaned up the gymnasium before leaving, putting away the balls and nets into the storage closet that came with the rental. Kageyama refused to put Shoyo back down or let anyone else hold him, though he did his part in cleaning up. By the time they were done, it would have been around the time they would have started cleaning up on a normal day, and they all left together.

“Let’s have dinner,” Tanaka suggested and they all heartily agreed, needing a distraction from the night’s events, “You can all come over to my place. Kiyoko just left on her trip to the Maldives to do a study on the hawksbill turtle population that migrate there every year. They’re endangered you know,” he grinned proudly. He was almost obsessively devoted to her. They’d met in collage and she’d finally agreed to go out with him on a pity date after he’d embarrassed himself enough times asking her out.

They married two years after graduation and he was very supportive of her and her career. She was a celebrated marine biologist working at the local university, who was often away overseas on such interesting trips. She came to watch them play when she was in town but never had the same passion for the sport as her husband did.

“Isn’t Kiyoko-san allergic to cats?” Sugawara reminded him pleasantly, “Won’t she be upset that you brought one into the apartment?” he asked and Tanaka looked torn. It was rude to go back on an invitation but Sugawara was right. He couldn’t let Shoyo come over to his house, no matter how cute he was. What if he couldn’t clean up all the hair and his poor Kiyoko suffered for it?

“You can all come over to my place,” Kageyama suggested quietly, still softly stroking Shoyo in his arms, “It’s big enough and Kiyoko won’t be inconvenienced,”

“That is very kind of you, Kageyama,” Daichi commented, giving all of them a subtle warning not to tease him. Not tonight. “I believe we have all of the ingredients for kare raisu that we can spare.”

“Sounds good! We’ll bring the sake and beer,” Noya offered and Asahi nodded, albeit hesitantly. The last time they’d all gotten together when alcohol was involved, they’d all gotten notes from their landlord the next day, warning them to keep it down or be evicted. Rowdy was putting it mildly.

“I’m sure we can find something for desert,” Yamaguchi added happily. Tsukishima sighed but he didn’t offer any arguments, merely accepting that his attendance was now mandatory.

When they arrived back at their apartment complex, they all briefly left to their own homes to get the supplies they all needed to cook dinner. Kageyama finally put Shoyo down when they got back to his apartment, feeling better now that they were back home. He tidied up a little, not having anticipated needing the space to entertain.

They all arrived half an hour later, knocking on his door. Sugawara, Asahi and Yamaguchi offered to cook while the others set the table and got enough chairs for them all to fit. Shoyo watched them all with wide eyes, excited at all the activity in the house, running around and playing with each of the team members. He liked having more people in the house than just Kageyama and enjoyed all the attention they were giving him.

It wasn’t until they were all seated around the table, laughing and chatting over the food that Kageyama realized that he wasn’t just surrounded by his teammates, he was surround by friends. His house had never felt livelier and he knew that his mother would be proud of him.

It was a feeling that he never wanted to end.

**Author's Note:**

> This is what I imagine Hinata looks like as a cat, with a little bit of a longer tail. Munchkins are not crossbred like most people think they are. It's just random genetic mutation. You can breed for the gene but it's not a perfect science. They are very energetic and playful cats despite their short legs so it was a perfect breed for Hinata. 
> 
> https://vetstreet-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com/44/ca/0d2d9db049ff933701e6ab7fc477/munckin-kitten-ap-vzjbhr-645-x-380.jpg
> 
> Let me know if the link isn't working. I don't think there is way to embed the picture in the notes section (please tell me if you know how!!) so this is the best I can do. But I'm always a little miffed when find a reference link doesn't work on a fanfic. 
> 
> Please let me know what you think about my story. Thanks for sticking with me till the end!


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